Graduate Alumni Research Award: Laurel Symes

On May 2, 2011 by Grad Forum

In honor of Graduate Appreciation Week, the Graduate News Forum will be highlighting the recipients of the 2010 Graduate Alumni Research Awards throughout the week. Applications for the 2011 Graduate Alumni Research Awards are due on May 5th.

Song Evolution and Speciation in Tree Crickets

Despite our understanding of the evolutionary process, many questions remain regarding the genetic and behavioral processes that generate new species. The Alumni Research Award has allowed me to research the processes that lead to divergence and speciation by studying how the calls of tree-cricket species differ in sixteen sites across the eastern United States. These comparisons suggest that the constellation of species present in a site affects the calls of the other species present. In 2011, I will continue to study female-mating preferences in these sites to investigate the role of female-mate choice in isolation and species formation.